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Got in an hour late to Shanghai; luckily, Matt had found a Starbucks to wait in. We took the metro back to his place so I could “de-train” myself after 17 hours. The journey through Guangzhou had been rather long and sweaty, too, so I was feeling particularly unfresh.

We made a quick plan for the day and then set out for a dumpling lunch. There’s a dumpling place right by his apartment and it had three kinds of vegetarian dumplings and a wide assortment of cold dishes to go with them.

We downed the dumplings and dry tofu before we went to purchase me a return ticket to Guangzhou for next Sunday. Since Shanghai is the only city on my China tour this June I want to spend more time here. We took our leftovers back to the apartment and I met his father who is here on business. He’s a really nice guy—easy to see where Matt gets it. Then Matt and I headed out to the city.

We took the metro to People’s Square and he pointed out various buildings while we wandered around the park. Then we headed east along East Nanjing Road (quite the shopping district) enjoying the people watching as we made our way toward the Bund.

The Bund is one of Shanghai’s most famous landmarks and it truly amazing. We ran across the street so I could take photos of the Shanghai skyline and the river. The Huapu River separates the financial district and The Bund and standing one on side gives glorious views of the other. We then trekked north a bit so we could do the walking tour suggested by Lonely Planet. We started at the north end by the Broadway Mansions and Russian Consulate and the Pujiang Hotel. We failed to find the graffiti from the Cultural Revolution but it may have been removed because of all the work done around the city to get ready for the Expo. We wandered south, noting all the buildings left over from when the Europeans colonized Shanghai in and around the Bund area. The buildings are old and beautiful but many looked as though they’d been renovated and cleaned up, decreasing that air of authenticity that I love. Once again, I’m sure it was because of the Expo.

We took a bus back north because our feet were tired and then walked back to the metro to go to an Italian place Matt knows. Like me, he loves Italian food, so if he says it’s good, I’m up for eating there.

The restaurant was tucked back from the street and its slogan is “Chocolate has a home.” Honey, I’m home! I immediately fell in love with it. Matt had the three cheese gnocchi and I opted for the seafood tomato risotto. Both were heaven in bowls. The desserts were even more impressive. I had a chocolate and cherry with cream dessert, covered in ganache and baked into a deep cup. A candy flower topped it, so it looked like a flower growing in a pot. Matt had a large piece of banana and chocolate cake served with unsweetened whipped cream. I topped mine off with a double shot of espresso. Divine. My belly and food soul were so happy.

We headed back to the financial district so I could take photos of it lit up at night. It’s amazing how different it looks at night—almost like a whole new city! There are elevated walkways for pedestrians to wander around on, making it safer and smoother for everyone. We walked back to the river and I took photos of The Bund—it looked so quaint all lit up! The boats going up and down the river were all lit up, too, some more obnoxiously than others.

Then we returned home and cleaned up before watching IP Man 2 and having some beers. Matt was nice enough to translate for me at the key points, too, so I even understood some of the jokes. When I had watched IP Man last year I didn’t get the jokes, only the main storyline, so it was greatly appreciated. Then it was time for bed to rest after all the walking we did today!

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